Ship&#39;s-hull construction



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SHIPS HULL CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED OCT. I6. I915 RENEWED SEPT22,1917.

1,339,755, Patented May 11,1920;

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A; jjjj::.2;; m 26 I 1 L A llomeys "UNITED STATES PATENT FREDERICK W.GORE, OF HUNTINGTON, NEVT YORK.

SHIPS-HULL GONSTRUGTION.

Application filed October 16, 1915, Serial No. 56,303.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK WV. GORE, acitizen of the i United States, residing at Huntington, county ofSuffolk, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and usefulShips Hull Construction, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a marine craft embodying several distinct features ofnovelty with a view to obtaining high speed combined with stability in asea way.

The principle of the invention is to limit the submersion of the craftshull in the water when said craftis traveling at such speed as toestablish wind or air pressure against certain surfaces or planes whichare provided as elements of the hull construction, whereby a certainpart of the hull is adapted to be raised out of the water by thepressure of the air developed by a relatively high speed of the craft,to the end that the hull is adapted to be supported partly upon thewater but mainly by the air pressure against the .under surface of theplane, as a result of which it is possible to obtain a 4 greater speeddevelopment of the craft.

Combined with the hull and the air pres sure surface or plane referredto, is a keel extending approximately the full length of the craft, thedepth of said keel exceeding the depth of the hull and the depth of theair pressure surface or plane, whereby the keel is adapted to remainsubmerged for approximately its length so as to aili'ord means forattaining stability of the craft in a sea Way and of being maneuvered inrough waters.

While my invention may be embodied in many kinds of marine craft, it isintended, more particularly, for use in the construetion of such craftas are to be driven at high speed, including motor driven racing craft,naval vessels of the type designed for torpedo service, torpedodestroyers and submarine destroyers, although the factor of safetysecured by the deep longitudinal keel and by a special form of the airpressure plane renders the invention of particular value in theconstruction of life boats for the reason that the invention renders itfeasible to produce a marine craft which. is, for all practicalpurposes, both non-capsizable and non-sinkable under the usualconditions of service.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1920.

Renewed September 22, 1917. Serial No. 192,825.

A special feature of the design, viewed from the standpoint of marinearchitecture, is the air pressure shell or plane constituting anintegral part of the hull and eX-.

tending in the general direction of the length thereof, said plane orshell exceeding the length of the hull proper and being equal,approximately, to the length of the deep longitudinal keel, the latterextending both forwardly beyond the bow of the hull and rearwardlybeyond the stern of said hull. At its forward part or toward the bowend, the shell or plane is pointed and in cross section said forwardpart of the shell is approximately semi-circular, but it is preferred toreduce the cross sectional curvature of said shell or plane toward therear or stern end of the craft so that at the rear the shell is asegment of a circle whose radius is greater than the radius at the forepart of said shell. The longitudinal relation of the shell or plane tothe hull is not on a line parallel to the longitudinal axis,horizontally considered, of the craft, but, contrawise, the shell ispositioned at an angle to said longitudinal axis, the angle of incidenceof the shell or plane relatively to the crafts hull being such as toelevate the forward part of the shell in order that, when driven atspeed, the air flows freely beneath the shell and is capable of exertingsuch pressure upon the under surface of the shell and in an upwarddirection to result in the exertion thereon of a sub stantial liftingpower or force which will obtain the result sought, 2'. 6., tosubstantially lift the hull by overcoming the weight thereof and of theload, to the end that the craft will be lifted part way out of thewater, the extreme lower part of the hull and the keel remainingsubmerged, and under high speed conditions the keel only being submergedat the fore and rear parts and amidship of the craft, whereby thedevelopment of extremely high speed is rendered possible, and the craftmay be said to ride or to be sustained mainly upon the air, withreliance placed upon the submersion of the keel to obtain stability andthe necessary maneuvering qualities.

The width of the cross sectionally curved shell or plane exceeds thewidth of the hull, the plane or shell depending from the sides of thehall to the end that the longitudinal side ec ge portions of the shell.or plane will, on the normal displacement of the craft, be submerged inthe water. This obtains a result which may be likened to the wateracting as a seal to the air chambers which are produced between thesides of the hull and the respective side portions of the shell,

, whereby the air flowing through the charmhers due to the motion of thecraft is confined, as it were, by the contour of the plane and by theliquid seal afforded by the submersion of the side portions of the shellin the water, thus precluding the escape of the air from the chamberslaterally or at the sides thereof, whereas the decreased curve of theshell toward the rear facilitates the flow and escape of the air fromthe charm bers rearwardly of the craft.

' The relative arrangement of the shell to the hull whereby the sideportions of said shell are immersed and the air chambers are produced atthe respective sides of the craft is a feature of some considerableimportance in a marine craft of my invention, for the reason that theair chambers afford a factor of safety in rough waters, it beingapparent that a side roll of the craft in one direction or the otherwill result in an increased dip of the plane at that side into the waterand consequently the air within the chamber will be compressed more onone side of the craft than in the chamber on the other Side of thecraft, whiehincreased air pressure will tend to cause the craft to rightitself, more or less.

The cross sectionally curved shell or plane is substantially flush withthe deck of the craft, and somewhat below the coaming and upperstructure thereof, particularly along the sides of the cockpit. AlthoughI have described that the shell or plane is curved in cross section, itis apparent that useful results are obtainable with other forms ofshells or planes, but the curved form is preferred for the reason thatit affords the greatest area of surface in proportion to its dimensionsan d the lines of thrust or force of the air are best calculated, as Inow view the matter, to obtain the results sought to be secured.

In addition to the primary function of affording a surface to utilizethe pressure of the wind in limiting displacement of the hull, or inother words. of lifting the hull partly out of the water when in motion,the shell or plane serves other purposes desirable in marine craft, forthe reason tha said shell or plane in the specified relation to thehull, propellers, bow and stern acts also as a means to eliminate thespray which usually flies over a craft traveling at high speed and iteliminates to a substantial extent the drag on the craft.

' Other features and advantages ofthe invention will appear from thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the drawings,wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of a marine craft embodying theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a plan thereof.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken approximately centrallythrough the hull.

Fig. 4: is a view in front elevation looking toward the bow and showingthe craft on a scale enlarged as compared with Figs. 1, 2 and 3, saidfigure illustrating more particularly the under surface of the airpressure shell or plane, and the relation of the respective sideportions of said plane or shell to the hull and the keel.

Fig. is an elevation. looking toward the stern of the craft.

Fig. 6 is a plan view illustrating diagrammatically another form of theshell or plane adapted to form part of the hull structure.

The hull 10 is of suitable construction known to those skilled in theart, but in a craft designed to develop high speed the lines of the hullshould be so finely developed as to offer minimum resistance to thepassage of the craft through the water and theair when the craft islifted to a substantial extent out of the water by the pressure of windor air against the under surface of the cross sectionally curved shellor plane 11 when the craft is traveling at relatively high speed.

A salient feature of the invention is a keel 12, the forward part ofwhich extends an appreciable distance beyond the bow of the hull and therear part of which extends likewise for an appreciable distance beyondthe stern of the hull, said keel being of such depth as to depend for asubstantial distance below the bottom surface of the hull at the lowestpoint thereof. The keel. is relatively thin, presenting comparativelybroad surfaces at the sides of the craft, whereby the keel offers aminimum resistance to the movement of the craft in the direction of itslength and at the same time affords the surfaces necessary to securestability of the craft in a sea way and to enable the craft to bemaneuvered in rough waters. The forward portion of the relatively thinkeel is constructed to produce a stem post 13, whereas the rearwardportion of the keel extending beyond the stern of the hull is adapted,as by the provision of the stern post (not shown) to support a rudderLl, the same being operated in any suitable way, as for example bycables 15 extending through the rear part of the hull so as to be withinconvenient reach of. the steersman occupyin the seat 16 positionedwithin the cockpit l'r of the craft. The rear part of the longitudinalkeel 12 terminates an appropriate distance in front of the overhangformed by the rear extremity of the cross sectionally curved shell orplane 11, so that the rudder is below the overhang, as usual, the lowerpart of said rudder being supported partially by the rudder foot 18. Thecraft is designed to be'propelled by a suitable number of screws, two ofwhich are indicated at 19 and located on the respective sides of thekeel. The propeller shafts 20 are supported where exposed by hangers 21,said propeller shafts extending through appropriate stufiing boxes 22provided in the hull, so that the forward portions of the propellershafts will be driven by the motor adapted to be located as at 23 withinthe cockpit.

As is usual in the art, the cockpit 17 is defined by the coaming 24which extends for an appreciable distance above the upper works of thecraft. The air pressure shell or plane 11 constitutes an importantfeature of this invention, the same extending the full length of thecraft or approximately so. This plane or shell 11 may be of any desiredshape in cross section, but it is preferred that the forward part of theplane,

or that part in rear of the bow and stem post, be semi-circular in crosssection, as shown in Fig. 4, whereas the rear part of the plane or shellis a segment of a circle, as shown in Fig. 5, the radius of the rearpart of the plane or shell being greater than the radius of thesemi-circular forward part thereof. The cross sectionally curved planeor shell extending the full length of the craft is not parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the hull, horizontally considered, but, on thecontrary, the axial longitudinal line of the shell or plane 11, is at anangle to the horizontal axial line of the hull, the angle of incidenceof the plane or shell with respect to the hull tending to raise orelevate the forward part of said shell so that at the bow of the craftthe plane or shell is higher than at the stern of said craft. Tominimize resistance the forward part of the cross sectionally curvedplane or shell is cut away, as at 26, so that the forward part of theshell, viewed in plan, tapers, but the Width of the shell exceeds thewidth of the hull, and the depth of the shell is equal substantially tothe depth of the hull, as shown in Figs. f and 5, whereby thelongitudinal side edges of the cross sectionally curved shell or planeare in the plane of the bottom of the hull, or they may extend below thebottom surface of the hull, as a result of which the respective sideportions of the plane are adapted to be submerged in the water when thecraft is afloat. As will be noted by reference to Figs. l and 5, theside portions of the plane or shell are in such relation to therespective sides of the hull as to result in the formation of airchambers A, the forward and rearward portions of which chambers are openfor the entrance of air and provides for the and the egress of airrespectively. WVhen the craft is propelled at a certain speed, the airis free to flow beneath the cross sectionally curved plane or shell 11,the entrance of air to the chambers A being facilitated by the formationof the forward part 26 of the shell, whereas the egress of air at therear of the craft is facilitated by the broad and relatively flatformation of the shell at the rearward part thereof. With the crafttraveling at high speed thewind or air flowing through and beneath theshell exerts pressure upon the under surfaces of the shell, suchpressure being in an upward direction, as a result of which the air orwind pressure lifts the hull more or less out of the water dependentupon the speed of the craft, thus overcoming the weight of the hull andthe load and limiting the displacement of the craft to such an extentthat the development of higher speed is possible by reason of the factthat frictional resistance of the water to the movement of the craft isminimized, but at the same time the depending keel 12 remaining in thewater insures the necessary stability in a sea way proper maneuvering ofthe craft.

In the embodiment of the invention as heretofore described, the shell orplane 11 is uniform in width rearwardly from the forward tapered end,the side edges being parallel as shown in Fig. 2, and the reartransversely curved part of the shell being somewhat flatter or in acurve of greater radius than the forward semi-circular part of saidshell. \Vhile the described form of shell is well adapted for certaintypes of speed craft, particularly as provision is made for therelatively free escape of air rearwardly from beneath the shell, it ispossible to modify the shell structure substantially as shown in Fig. 6with a view to compressing the air as it flows beneath the shell andthereby increase the lifting effort applied by the air against the undersurface of the shell. To this end, the width of the shell rearwardlyfrom the forward raised front part thereof is gradually decreased asshown diagrammatically in Fig. 6, the longitudinal side edges of theshell being slightly inclined toward each other beginning at a point inrear of the pointed forward part of said shell whereby the shell whenviewed in plan tapers or decreases in width toward the rear partthereof. As hereinbefore described the shell is positioned at an anglelongitudinally considered with respect to the hull, but with arearwardly tapering shell I do not find it necessary to decrease thetransverse curvature of the rear part thereof as heretofore described,so that the radius of the shell at the rear may be, and preferably is,the same as at the forward part thereof. When the shell is constructedwith the rearwardly tapering portion, the flow of air beneath the shelland within chambers such as A is more or less retarded by theconfiguration of the shell, hence the air is compressed to a certainextent and it exerts an increased lifting effort in an upward directionagainst the under surface of the shell.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a marine craft, a hull, and an airpressure shell unitary with saidhull and extendingin the direction of the length thereof, saidair-pressure shell being so related to the hull that the respective sideportions of the shell are adapted to be sealed by the medium in whichsaid hull floats, whereby the hull is lifted partially out of the waterwhen the craft is in motion.

2. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a shell or planeextending lengthwise of said hull, said hull or plane being curved intransverse cross section, the lower margins of said shell being sorelated to the water line of the hull as to result in the submergence ofsaid margins in the water.

8. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a shell or planeextending lengthwise of said hull and curved in transverse crosssection, the curvature of the forward part of the plane or shell beingof a radius less than that of the rearward part of the plane.

4;. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a crosssectionally curved air plane unitary with the hull and the respectiveside portions of which plane are adapted to be immersed in and sealed bythe water, for precluding the lateral outflow of the air adapted toexert pressure upwardly upon the under surface of the plane or shell.

5. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of an air pressureshell or plane unitary with said hull and extending for substantiallythe length thereof, and a keel depending below the hull and the shell orplane.

6. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a keel dependingfor a substantial distance below the hull, said keel being extendedbeyond the outline of the hull at the extreme end portions of thelatter, and an air pressure plane or shell unitary with the hull andextending lengthwise of said hull and the keel.

7. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a longitudinalkeel the forward part of which is extended beyond the corresponding partof the hull, and an air pressure plane unitary with the hull andextending for substantially the length of said keel and the hull.

8. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a longitudinalkeel the rearward part of which is extended beyond the correspondingpart of the hull, and an air pressure shell or plane in operativerelation to the hull and inoVerhanging relation to the extended part ofthe keel. I

9. In a marine craft, the combination with a 111111,.015 a longitudinalkeel the forward and rearward parts of which are extended forappreciable distances beyond the corresponding parts of the hull, and anair pressure shell or plane in operative relation to the hull and thekeel so as'to produce air chambers at the respective sides of said hull.10. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a keel, the depthand length of which exceeds the corresponding dimensions of the hull,and a shell or plane the width of which exceeds the width of the hull,the respective side portions of said shell or plane being adapted to besealed by the medium in which the hull floats.

11. In a marine craft, ,the combination with a hull, of keel, the depthand length of which exceeds the corresponding dimensions of the hull, across sectionally curved plane in operative relation to the hull and thekeel, the forward part of said shell or plane being approximatelysemi-circular.

12. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a keel, the depthand length of which exceeds the corresponding dimensions of the hull, aplane extending lengthwise of the keel and the hull, said plane beingcurved in cross section with the curvature at the rear at a greaterradius than the curvature at the forward part thereof.

13. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a keel extendingforwardly and rearwardly beyond the hull, and a cross sectionally curvedplane positioned longitudinally of the hull and inclined longitudinallywith respect thereto, the side portions of said plane being positionedto be sealed by the water and cooperating with the hull to produce airchambers at the respective sides thereof.

14. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a crosssectionally curved shell extending lengthwise of the hull and positionedfor the side edges of said shell to dip into the water, said shelldecreasing in width toward the rear thereof.

15. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of an air pressureshell extending lengthwise of the hull, said shell being positioned atan angle to the longitudinal axial line of said hull and said shelldecreasing in width toward the rear thereof.

16. In a marine craft, a hull, a keel extending forwardly and rearwardlywith respect to the hull, and an air pressure shell unitary-with thehull and positioned relatively to said hull for the respective sideportions of said shell to be sealed by the medium in which the hull isadapted to float.

17. In a marine craft, a hull, a keel extending forwardly and rearwardlywith respect to the hull, and an air pressure shell unitary with thehull and positioned relatively to said hull for the respective sideportions of said shell to be sealed by the medium in which the hull isadapted to float, the cross sectional form of said shell being such asto produce intermediate the shell and the hull certain air chambers thecross sectional area of which decreases rearwardly of the bow of thehull, whereby the shell tends in a measure to compress the air flowingwithin said chambers.

18. In a marine craft, the combination with a hull, of a shell extendinglengthwise of the hull, the longitudinal axial line of said shell beinginclined to the corresponding axial line of the hull and the respectiveside portions of said shell being spaced relatively to the respectiveside portions of the hull so as to produce therebetween intermediate airchambers, the lower margins of said shell being so related to the waterline of the hull as to result in the submergence of said margins in thewater.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FREDERICK W. GORE.

